


The Librarians and the Catcher

by Baby_Fangirl



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Ceve, F/F, Librarians, casseve, jazekiel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-08 00:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21467227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baby_Fangirl/pseuds/Baby_Fangirl
Summary: After Ezekiel 'borrows' an artefact to help his best friend, Cassandra gets stuck in an alternative universe where everything is different. A world where Ezekiel is professional; Stone is depressed; and Eve is no longer her girlfriend.Cillian has to figure out a way to get home.A Ceve fic with mentions of Jazekiel.
Relationships: Eve Baird/Cassandra Cillian, Eve Baird/Flynn Carsen, Ezekiel Jones/Jacob "Jake" Stone, implied, mentions of
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

Cassandra was barely managing to keep her head held upright on her shoulders as she sauntered back from the artefact room after finishing putting the newly-found bracelet of Anubis to bed. Sometime over the last two hours, mostly everyone had turned themselves in for the night, withdrawing to their own peaceful homes. Jake had left first, eager to get back to deciphering an ancient poetry book; and then Eve, her girlfriend left, craving for a much-needed shower and sleep. Cillian, on the other hand had been keeping herself up for hours; even resorting to that god-awful coffee which was supposed to help you pull all-nighters. 

But Cass was barely managing to pull an all-dayer, shuffling around the library with all the life of a ghost. The only other person to share the Annex with her, was Ezekiel, who had been trying to penetrate the impenetrable glass of a ‘thief proof’ case. The contents of said case were barely miraculous, not that he would even steal from the library. He just wanted to prove this box wrong. 

“Cass, you look awful, ya should get some rest,” Jones commented without even taking an eye off the display unit that his nimble fingers were caressing, as if there was some secret level to it. 

The redhead stopped in the middle of the room, barely even able to keep her eyes open as she pouted, rubbing the tiredness from her face. She didn’t even bother to argue on the state of her appearance. 

“I’ve been having this stupid nightmare ever since freezing up in that monastery. Every night, without fail,” the smaller librarian confessed without prompt as she plonked down on the empty stool on the other side of the desk which Ezekiel was working at. She stared at the glass case with a faraway expression before flicking the unit, earning a stern glare from the thief. 

“Look, Cassie, we’ve all said that it’s not your fault, we all get nervous under pressure sometimes,” Jones just shrugged, trying to take a screwdriver to the hinges. 

Blue eyes rolled as shoulders slumped forward and Cassandra leant against the desk. “No, you don’t. You’ve never failed to get past security and into vaults and places, Jake never fails to figure out how to save the world. Eve has never failed in keeping us safe. But I... I let everyone down, and now I can’t even sleep,” Cillian threw herself a pity party, dramatically dropping her head forward on the table with a thud. 

Finally, Ezekiel glanced up, hopping off his stool, holding up a finger, “I know what might help, stay right here!” the young librarian was way too enthusiastic for this time of night. 

Cassandra was about to say that she didn’t have the energy to go anywhere, but the second she had finally lifted her face off the wood, Jones had already vanished like a thief in the night. 

Cillian waited a whole hour, which was in fact seven minutes, before Ezekiel re-emerged from the artefact hall carrying a circle. “I remember seeing this on my first day as a librarian, I remember it cause it’s the most worthless piece of junk in the whole place and wouldn’t fetch a single dime, but... it’s a dream catcher,” he announced rather proudly, and Cassandra stared at the dream catcher, half expecting it to do something... magical? 

It did not. 

“So... what’s it do?” the redhead inquired tiredly, propping her head up with a tiny fist. 

Ezekiel just stared at her with a look of utter disbelief. 

“It’s a _ dream _catcher, Cassie... it catches dreams. At least, it’s supposed to, but it’s in the library so it has to have some sort of magic. I say you try it out tonight, get some dreamless sleep, and bring it back tomorrow, nobody would be any wiser,” Ezekiel suggested, dangling the artefact from a finger. 

The dreamcatcher was a fragile looking thing. It was a circle of intricately carved circle wood, maybe oak, and a golden thread weaved the centrepiece like a spider web. Small wooden beads dangled from the artefact, and if Stone was here, he would probably decipher the old markings that adorned each bead. But he wasn’t, and Cassandra hesitantly took the dream catcher. 

“We’re not supposed to take artefacts from the library, that’s _ stealing _ !” for the second time that night Ezekiel stared at Cassandra with incredulity before gesturing wildly to himself. _ “Oh!” _ the redhead finally gasped in understanding, “Right , you’re _Ezekiel Jones_. But still, it’s wrong to take things from the library!” the girl tried to explain, but the other librarian was engrossed in defeating the glass case once again. 

A sigh slipped from Ezekiel's lips. “Library! D’ya mind if Cassie borrows your stupid nightmare net if she gives it back?” he called out into nothing but the open space of the Annex; and there was only stillness and silence in response. “See it’s okay? It’s a library! Thing's get checked out all the time, now go home, you’re distracting me,” Jones murmured, clearly trying his hardest not to get infuriated with the box. 

Cassandra just nodded, smiling at the thief all the while. He might pretend not to have a moral code that’s anything other than Ezekiel Jones, but he was like the brother that she never had. And with a small and unreciprocated hug, Cillian went home with a brand-new hope in her heart. 

The red-haired librarian slipped underneath her purple coloured sheet’s pulling up the duvet and the knitted throw, before ever so carefully hanging the artefact from the post of her headboard. “Goodnight dreamcatcher... sweet dreams,” she mused hopefully before leaning over to her bedside, and turned out the light.

Cassandra skipped down the marble stairs, past the golden lions that guarded the entrance to the library, and greeted a new and glorious day. She was clad in a floral print skirt, navy blue tights and a salamander orange blouse with a brass broach clinging to the fabric. She truly felt refreshed and alive. And not a single dream had plagued her mind. 

It was somewhat hard to believe that Ezekiel had come up with a plan that had actually _ worked _ _!_ But then again, they usually did underestimate him. 

“Cassie! Good morning!” The thick Australian accent sounded from the library as Ezekiel waltzed into the room with a huge grin plastered onto his lips. The level on enthusiasm coming off of Jones was far too high. She’d never heard the thief so excited, not even when he got to break into Buckingham Palace. 

“Morning, Ezekiel, you okay?” The smallest librarian asked carefully, her brow furrowing. The thief was wearing a three-piece grey suit, his hair was combed neatly back, and his shoes were shining. 

“To be fair, I was feeling okay, but then I saw you! And my day just got so much better!” the boy grinned and went over to the desk to pour some coffee. Cassandra blinked in surprise. Ezekiel was reasonable (to an extent) but she was starting to wonder if maybe he had taken something, and not in the thieving way. Speaking of, his glass case was missing from the table. 

“Did you manage to break into-” her words were cut off by the sound of shuffling feet and Jake emerged from the rows of bookshelves, and Jones lit up again. 

“Jake! There you are! I made you some coffee,” the Australian chirped merrily. 

“I don’t feel like coffee,” Jake sighed defeated, as he lowered himself into a chair, and Cassandra almost gasped. Seemingly overnight, Jacob’s hair had grown three inches, and had become an unruly and unwashed mess. His usual well-groomed features had become shabby and uncared for. His eyes seemed broken, and his gaze was dim. She had never seen Stone look so... morose. 

Ezekiel poured a cup regardless. “You never feel like coffee, but you drink it anyway, so I make it,” and with that, he handed the mug to Jake who just looked down at his frayed reflection in the dark liquid. 

Cassandra just watched with her mouth open. “Jake are you alright?” as if Ezekiel hadn’t been weird enough, seeing this side of Jacob unsettled her somewhat. 

“Honestly Cassandra, you can’t expect him to get better overnight,” Jones defended with a slight frown and the redhead tried to quickly fix the situation, but Ezekiel got there first, “You know how his depressive episodes can last for weeks, months, years it’s unreasonable to ask him to get better so soon,” he spoke, leaving the young woman speechless. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Jake sighed barely looking at either of the librarians. 

“Where’s Eve?” Cassandra instantly perked up, eyes wide and scanning the room for the sight of her blonde-haired girlfriend. She and Eve had been dating for little over seven months, and despite the fact that they have two separate houses and two separate rooms, they spend between four and five nights cuddled together in the same bed, thankful that the library had brought them together. 

Ezekiel seemed to completely forget about the previous exchange and grinned again. “Baird? Uh... I think she was with Flynn and Jenkins restoring an artefact, apparently Aegis has been under the weather.” Ezekiel was now speaking to the clippings book as her stood over the pages eagerly awaiting a new mission. 

That was usually _ her _role. 

“I would feel under the weather if I had the head of a monster moulded into my surface too,” Flynn announced from the other direction and Cass spun around. “The shield was said to be wielded by the gods, the sight of Medusa’s face didn’t turn anyone to stone, considering it's just a well-crafted piece of metal, but it still had a great influence of fear over mortals.”. 

At least Flynn hadn’t changed, well, at least not dramatically. All the brown from his wardrobe choices seemed to be replaced with black, almost as if he were attending a wedding, or a funeral... Cassandra wasn’t all too keen on either of the ideas. 

But when her attention turned to Eve, the redhead didn’t know where to begin. Her girlfriend's hair was down, and longer than she remembered it. It was almost infuriating. Anyone who knew colonel Baird knew that the woman always tied her hair back, just because she hated it getting in the way while she's concentrating, fighting, or just doing anything! 

She was also wearing more makeup than Cassandra was used to. Her Eve didn’t need eyeshadow or lipstick, she was always so naturally beautiful, and the redhead told her that every day, just to make sure the older woman knew it. Besides, she knew personally that the Guardian wasn’t so fussed with all the cosmetics, seeing them as unnecessary and difficult. And she had to agree. 

Not to mention that Baird had switched up her style completely. The blonde was wearing a mint green dress that just about came down to her knees, she completed the outfit with small heels and a set of golden earrings and a necklace. For a moment, Cassandra stared at her girlfriend like she was a stranger. She'd worn similar outfits in the past, but for undercover missions to high class mansions; not for everyday life in the Annex. 

Inwardly, she’d have loved to borrow that dress had she been a couple of many inches taller. But this just wasn’t right for Eve. Her Eve wore combat boots and army pants. Her Eve stuck up her middle finger at the idea of heels. Her Eve didn’t care about dangling metal from her earlobes. Something was very wrong. 

Cassandra let out an audible sigh of relief when her ocean blue gaze turned upon Jenkins, who thankfully was the very same, down to the snowy white hairs on his head. “Jenkins! You’ve not changed!” the librarian exclaimed, a concerned grin wavering on her lips. 

“I’ve not exactly changed much since the sixth-century, Miss Cillian, that is kind of a given as an immortal,” Galahad explained with a curt nod as the three other librarians, plus Guardian watched the redhead, alternating confused and quizzical glances. 

“Cassandra, are you alright?” Baird rest a hand on the small woman’s arm, her voice was gentle, laced with deep concern like a layer of worried frosting on an anxious cake. Truthfully, Cassandra didn’t know. How had so much changed overnight? Was this some sort of prank? It was the most logical explanation, but there were far too many differing variables for it just to be a cruel joke. 

But that was when she saw it. 

A thin golden band weaved its way around Eve’s fourth finger on her left hand. “Y-you’re married?” Cass spluttered before she could stop herself, or think of a better way to air the question. The redhead snapped her gaze between everyone else present, waiting for some kind of punchline, or surprise that wasn’t funny. 

“Cass, we’ve been married for five months...” Eve spoke again, even more cautious and alarmed than the last time. Cillian could feel the eyes burning into her, feeling more like an animal in a cage than a librarian. What was going on? Wait. _ We? _Her and Eve? 

Flynn carefully placed his hand on the blonde’s shoulder, stepping forward. “You... you spoke at our wedding. Don’t you remember?” His brow was furrowed, and the girl just felt sick. Eve... was married to Carson? Nothing was making sense, and her head was spinning like an evil merry-go-round. 

“Cass... what’s goin’ on?” Ezekiel asked, Eve’s concern must have been infectious. 

Cassandra held her face in her hands for a moment, trying desperately to make sense of the situation on her own; nobody moved or said a word, all waiting for her. 

“I think... I think I might be in some alternative reality; I don’t know how, or why, but everything, every_ one _, save for Jenkins, has changed in one way or another. You’re all a different version of your true selves and please don’t take this the wrong way but you’re starting to freak me out,” Cassandra confessed before chewing on her bottom lip, afraid that the other would think she was crazy. 

A shadow of silence lingered over the library, everyone trying to process what Cassandra had just told them, when suddenly, without warning, the lights flickered, and the library rumbled, dust falling in thin streams from the ceiling. “What was that?” Cillian whispered. 

“You don’t remember?” Jake queried with an arched brow, and she just shook her head. “The Serpent Brotherhood have been trying to penetrate the library for five weeks now, every time getting closer to breaking the barriers and taking the artefacts, slaying everything in their way,” he slumped forward in his chair, not even cracking a smile. 

Ezekiel nodded slowly, “I mean, I wouldn’t have put it so morbidly, but yes, the Serpent Brotherhood are determined to get into the library. How didn’t you know that? You invented the sound alarm for the back door three weeks ago,”. Again, everyone was staring at her. 

“I don’t know!” Cassandra candidly exclaimed. “This whole world isn’t mine... In my world the serpent brotherhood doesn’t exist anymore. You guys are all, well, different,”. 

“Perhaps you should explain ‘different’,” Jenkins suggested, despite being the only one who hadn’t undergone a mysterious reboot. 

Cassandra sighed, but nodded anyway, wondering where to start. 

“Well, Ezekiel, I don’t know how to put this, but in the real world you’re less... organised. Your moral code is slightly questionable, but it’s okay. You’re more chilled out, and relaxed.” She turned towards Stone, still sitting in the armchair. “Jake, you’re not depressed, at least, I don’t think you are. You’re always making sure everyone’s okay, and then you’d disappear for hours to read poetry books to Cal,” she smiled warmly at that. 

Cillian turned back around to Flynn and Eve, still stood close together... It was so hard to think of them as a married couple. “Flynn, you’re not usually around, your solo missions are important to you and-” the man instantly shook his head. 

“I’ve never left the library without the other librarians. Going off by myself, leaving Eve behind? That’s something I wouldn’t do,” Carson stated, and the redhead heaved a small breath. Maybe that’s why Eve liked him more now. He wasn’t disappearing from the library every other day. 

“Eve...” Cassandra felt her heart hammering in her chest, confronted with the love of her life that was in love with Flynn. “You’ve never liked clothes like this, always preferring practicality over prettiness. You hate heels, you can’t run in them, kick people, or be taken seriously by men. You don’t like dressing up not just because it’s uncomfortable, but you don’t want guys to look at you like you’re only worth your image.” 

_ And in the real world you’re dating me. _She was tempted to add, but nothing else came past her cherry-glossed lips. Her words had seemed to resonate with the blonde, Cassandra recognised that gaze in her sky-blue eyes. 

“Okay, you say all that, but can you prove it?” Jacob challenged, and the redhead had to think hard for a while. 

A small exhale escaped the small librarian before she spoke yet again. “Flynn, in the real world, we know about Nicole, and you do get to see her again.” Cassandra promised, just noticing that Jenkins opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again quickly. 

For a second time, the original librarian shook his head with a goofy, but confused grin, “But, Nicole is dead,” he assured, and Eve glanced across with a slightly furrowed brow. 

The redhaired woman bared a small smile, shaking her head softly from side to side, “Deep down, you don’t really believe that, and you have every right not to.” Flynn was too stunned to argue again, so she moved on, “Jake, you keep your beers in the fountain of youth, you also start publishing your academic responses under your own name, not some different identity,” She announced, and the shadow of his gloomy features seems to lighten momentarily. 

She then addressed the white-haired knight, “Jenkins, your immortality is not a gift to you; it wouldn’t have been so bad if Charlene had reciprocated your feelings, but you’ve spent decades on your own, not knowing how to love, or be loved, whilst seeing the rest of the world love around you, and to you, it feels more like a curse,” They had this conversation in the privacy of the annex months ago, over tea, and Cassandra remembered feeling so torn by the news. 

Jenkins only nodded, seemingly swayed by her argument. He always believed in her. 

“Ezekiel, we met your mother, and she’s capable of change, just like you were.” Cassandra smiled fondly; even though the woman that had raised Ezekiel had many flaws, she had come out of it a better person, and it had inspired a hope within the redhead for months afterwards. 

Jones pointed at her accusingly with a hollow laugh. “Ah, see, now I know you’re lying, my mum’s never going to change, it’s impossible,” for the first time, this Ezekiel sounded and acted much more like the real one, crossing his arms over his chest, not quite too sure where to look, not making eye contact. 

“We can go through space and time, we have met fairies, ice giants and gods, we work in a magical library, you should really know by now that nothing is impossible. We know you love your mum, no matter what she said or did, you never wanted her approval, just her love,” Cassandra predicted with a smile, that was one of the best things that she loved about her friend. 

Ezekiel glowered, but said nothing else, clearly thinking over the redhead's words. She turned to Baird who had been waiting for her turn. Cassandra knew the guardian better than anyone; especially since they spent a lot of nights together talking about their past and their future whilst sitting on Cassie’s balcony, staring at the stares. 

“And Eve... Sometimes you wonder what it would be like if you had never left NATO, if you woke up and forgot about Magic, and the Library, and Us. Life would be so much easier that way. But you always say that the library is still the best thing that happened to you, and that you wouldn’t change it for the world,”. 

Eve blushed softly, glancing between Cassandra and Flynn, who looked as shocked by this news as Jake and Ezekiel, which means Baird hadn’t told him about her feelings as much as she had told Cillian in another dimension. 

One point to Cassandra, zero for Flynn. The redhead smiled gently to herself. 

“Okay then! We believe you,” Carson broke the silence, stepping forward, finally taking his hands off of the Colonel. “But it doesn’t explain how you’re here,” he then started to pace, wracking his brain for a solution. 

“Jake and I are going to check the library, there might be something there that can help us figure this whole mess out,” Ezekiel promised with a warm grin stretching into his cheeks. He helped Stone out of the chair and the two boys set off towards the deeper shelves in the archives. 

“Oh! I’ll be back!” Flynn called, already hastily walking out and to the artefact rooms, goodness knows what he was looking for. 

Jenkins sighed and shifted towards the annex, mumbling something about tea. 

Which left Cassandra in the front of the library, staring at the spear of destiny rather than confronting Eve, who was no longer her girlfriend. It felt beyond weird, almost as if they had broken up, but only one person knew about it. It made her stomach feel queasy. 

The blonde hadn’t taken her gaze away from the librarian since Cassandra had arrived, but it was plain to see how greatly the girl was struggling with something internal. It practically caused her heart to ache to witness the deterioration of Cillian’s confidence when she thought nobody was looking. 

“I know that look,” Eve announced, taking the small redhead by surprise. She quickly glanced up at Colonel Baird who had taken four steps forward and was standing right before her, gaze trained perfectly on her face. 

“Huh?” A soft squeak dissipated from the mathmagician’s lips. 

“We... We may not be the correct versions of ourselves... but you are _ the _Cassandra Cillian, and I know you. I know that look that you get when something is bothering you, but you don’t want to share it because you’re afraid to be a burden to those who would listen,” Eve said, careful and confiding as she pushed a rogue strand of red hair behind the librarians ear. 

Cassandra’s cheeks flushed scarlet, again, unable to look her guardian in the face. She didn’t have much of an option however, as Baird’s fingers tucked under her chin, raising her head so that their gazes were forced to connect. Cassandra swallowed. 

“C-can we sit down?” the girl stuttered, and Eve laughed softly. She nodded once and led them both to the pristine steps between the sleeping lions. Cassie sat down on the second-bottom step, with Baird beside her in her mint green dress which now exposes more of her legs as she sat down. 

Maybe it was a good thing that the Guardian didn’t wear this sort of attire in the real world, the librarian would never be able to concentrate again. 

“So, what’s up, Cassie?” Baird inquired, her eyes soaking up the image if the redhaired angel on the step. 

Cassandra felt as though she would be bursting the world's biggest bubble if she told her the truth. How would this Eve react? It had been hard enough confessing her sexuality to the real Eve, and now she had to do it again, but with the added bonus of their relationship. She sighed, trying to be brave. 

“In the real- I mean- _ my _ world, you’re not with Flynn, married _ or _ dating,” Cillian began, fiddling with the cuff of her blouse as she hunched forward. 

Eve blinked, that was fair enough, it didn’t mean that much, relationships in alternate universes weren’t that big of a deal. “So? Did I get another Prince Charming?” the blonde teased softly, nudging her shoulder gently into the other girl who just nodded a moment before speaking. 

“Actually yes... Do you remember that time when we became book characters? Jake was a robot axeman’ you were a ninja princess, and I was merlin, but also a-” Cassandra fell silent, but the quietness lasted for a half a second before Baird continued. 

“A prince. You... You were my Prince Charming?” The tone coating those words was almost indecipherable. There was shock, but was it good shock or bad shock? 

Cassandra nodded again, but this time she didn’t follow the action with any words, preferring to sit there awkwardly, picking blue lint fluff off her knees. “So...” Eve started again, “You and I, are together?”. 

Cillian grew tired of nodding and sighed deeply, “Yes, it’s why I was so shocked that you were married, and to Flynn. Don’t get me wrong!” She hurried barely taking a breath, “I like Flynn, and you guys are sweet, but I just _ can’t _watch him touch you.” the redhead confessed, finally looking over at Eve who was still staring at her. “Why do you dress like that? You’ve always worn what made you feel comfortable, what changed?” Cassandra asked, blue eyes washing over the dress and heel combo. 

It was Baird’s turn to try and think up her words, playing with the suggestions on her tongue as she sighed, “It was Flynn’s idea. He said I should dress more feminine when we started dating. I didn’t at first, but when we got married, he was just so loyal and brave, he’s stayed with the library for years, and dressing up was the least that I could do to repay such a kindness,” Eve explained almost sadly, batting a lock of blonde hair out of her face as if to prove this wasn’t her choice, 

Cassandra returned the earlier gesture, and tucked the trespassing blonde curl behind Baird’s ear, and smiled warmly. “You shouldn’t change for anyone, if someone loves you, they love all of you, for exactly who you are,” she grinned again as the colonel looked back up with a shimmer of hope lighting up in her sapphire eyes. 

“Tell me about us,” Eve requested. “In your world,” she added, in case Cassandra had been confused by her notion. 

Cassandra hummed, leaning back on the white step as she thought; there was so much that she loved about getting to be the guardian’s girlfriend; but suddenly thinking about it made her worry about _ her _Eve. 

What was happening in her universe? Did anyone notice she was gone? What if she had swapped places with the Cassandra of _ this _ universe? Did Eve know the difference between them? She suddenly felt queasy. 

“We’ve been together for about seven months. I asked you to be my girlfriend after a very long coming-out conversation over milkshakes and fries. When you said yes, I got so happy that I cried, and you bought extra fries because your theory was that I couldn’t cry if I was eating fries.” They both laughed at that and Cassandra instinctively leant against Baird’s shoulder. 

“You always make me feel so safe, and wanted. I didn’t know what that felt like before you, not truly. My parents only wanted a success, a healthy, successful winner of trophies. The library wanted all of us, but let’s face it, I would be nothing without Jake and Ezekiel. Nobody has ever loved me the way that you do,” Cillian paused, her gaze falling to the floor for a moment. 

“You were always on edge, ready for anything, always prepared for something to happen, but eventually, I figured out how to get you to relax, and it was so good to see you peaceful.” the librarian admitted, almost surprised to see that Eve was almost close to crying. “Hey, no, don’t cry, it’s okay,”. She hushed softly. 

Baird blinked rapidly, pushing back her tears, “Well,” she spoke hoarsely, “I’m glad one version of myself is able to relax. I wish I knew what that was like,” Eve shook her head lightly, smoothing out the creases of her dress. “What happened, Cass? How are you here?” 

The unsolved mystery. “I don’t know, Eve... I went home, went to bed and woke up in this whole other world,”. 

“Unless you didn’t!” Flynn announced with a grin on his lips that he usually wears when he’s solved a puzzle. He strode into the annex with very long, purposeful steps, Cillian and Baird where quick to follow. 

“Little bit of context on that would be nice, Flynn,” Eve stated casually as the man cleared a desk and sat on the table, instead of in the chair behind it. 

He grinned towards the redhead, almost ignoring his wife entirely, “You said that you went to bed and woke up here, but what if you didn’t wake up at all,” Flynn spoke with many hand gestures that the younger librarian didn’t follow. 

She furrowed her brow in panic, “Oh my gosh, I’m dead?!” Cillian shrieked, suddenly trying to process limbo. 

Flynn shook his head quickly, always jumping at the chance to get to teach. “Not dead, dreaming, it’s called Astral dreaming, it’s basically where your soul lives inside of your head until it can be reconnected with your body.” 

“What?!” Eve demanded, holding onto Cassandra’s arm protectively. 

Flynn thought a moment before speaking again, “Cassandra is alive, but in her bed in the real world, this is all in her head, within reason. But something must have happened for her spirit to abandon her body like this, leaving her body in an eternal state of sleep. Astral dreaming is really rare. Nobody’s achieved it in three-hundred years!” 

“So ya tellin’ me that I can’t win a fiver on a scratch card, but Cass here can win a one in a billion chance at getting cursed?” Ezekiel announced as he and Stone re-entered the Annex carrying a mid-sized leather-bound book. 

Cassandra perked up suddenly, “Actually, it’s a one in two trillion two hundred and eighty billion chance considering there being three-hundred years in between the alleged cases,” she excitedly figured out the maths, before the fact hit her in the face. 

“What do you mean, _ cursed _,” Colonel Baird pressed on with growing concern as Ezekiel dropped the book onto the desk beside Flynn who shortly hopped off the table and joined everyone else in crowding around the book like a flock of hungry pigeons. 

“The person who did this before you, her name was Briar Rose,” Jake spoke, looking and sounding more alive now than he had earlier as he flipped through the pages of the book. It was better to see the cowboy act more like himself; and Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder how this had all happened in the first place. 

Eve frowned slightly, muttering to herself, “Briar Rose? Why does that name sound so familiar?". 

Jacob found the page he was looking for and tapped it with his finger. “Briar rose was a sixteen-year old princess whose parents had angered an evil fairy. The fairy had cast a spell on the child. On her birthday, the princess pricked her finger on the cursed spindle and succumbed to a death sleep. But it was some kind of torture, because even when she was asleep, the girl had awful dreams of her loved ones dying, in a world that was similar, but not her own. She finally awoke after months petrified and paranoid,”. Jake skimmed the writing, and Cassandra was sure that she had heard this story before. 

“Oh my god, it’s sleeping beauty,” Eve murmured, and Ezekiel half-laughed. 

“The fairy-tale?” the thief chuckled, shaking his head slightly, despite the fact that he knew the guardian was right. 

“We know for a fact not to go dismissing fairy tales, Jones,” Eve reprimanded, still standing protectively by Cillian’s side. 

“It was the perfect torture,” Flynn pointed out, “Time works differently in the astral plane, hours can pass when you feel like you’ve been here for minutes,”. The redhead hadn’t said a word through this entire exchange, her mind hurtling like crazy trying to keep up with all this new information. 

She was done with playing fairy-tales. “There’s just one problem,” Cassandra spoke aloud, and everyone quietened to listen, “I never touched a spinning wheel,” she pointed out. She could feel Baird’s comforting presence beside her, keeping her sane. 

“You didn’t have to,” Jenkins announced, shuffling forward with a tray of teacups. “After Briar Rose awoke and the debacle was over, the cursed wheel was destroyed. But being a spindle from the castle, the oak would have been valuable, too good to waste. Branches, broken chairs, axe handles, all ended up back at the carpenters. So, if perhaps you had come into contact with the remodelled wheel...” he left the statement hanging in mid-air. 

“Oh no...” the small librarian whispered, glancing up at the others, “The dreamcatcher! Ezekiel stole it from the library for me when I had trouble sleeping!” Cassandra recalled energetically. 

The thief stood up straight, shaking his head insistently, “I wouldn’t dare take an artefact from the library!” Jones defended himself instantaneously. 

“Here’s a wake-up call, you don’t have this much morality and self-restraint in the real world!” Cillian argued back. 

“Of course,” Flynn murmured, snapping his fingers, “The reverse dreamcatcher. Instead of catching the dreams it traps you in them. It plagued the city of Colmar for a while putting all its civilians in a hazy sleep. There were so many of them that it wore out the magic pretty fast, but considering that it’s only you here it won’t be that easy to break out of.” The original librarian figured, biting down on his thumb as he thought. 

He began to pace again, “The dreamcatcher was brought to the library in 1881 by the librarian at the time, Isaac Newton”,” 

Cassandra almost started gleaming like her cheeks were made from sunlight, “Isaac Newton was a Librarian?” when nobody responded, the redhead cleared her throat, “So... how do I wake up?” she asked expectantly, looking around the faces of the librarians, guardian and knight. Someone had to have an answer. 

“The way all the fairy-tales end,” Jake stated, nobody moved a muscle. “With true loves kiss,”. 

Eve perched on the edge of Cassandra’s bed, despite it being a King and there was plenty of room for the both of them, Colonel Baird couldn’t bring herself to lay beside her girlfriend when she had to pause every couple of minutes to make sure that the redhead was still breathing. 

The blonde had known something was wrong when she walked into the Annex three days ago, and everything was quiet. Mornings in the library were some of the noisiest times of the day, whether it be pointless arguments; celebrations and merry moments, or just plain ordinary life; the librarians had a way of making everything so alive. But everything had been still, Jones was asleep at the table with his glass tank in front of him and Jake was hidden among the shelves reading poetry. 

Jenkins had poured Eve a cup of coffee before asking where Cassandra was, assuming that they had been together. After three hours of waiting for the mathmagician to show up, Eve led two librarians and a Jenkins through the back door. 

They had found her asleep in bed; she was beautiful, peaceful, and Eve felt silly for panicking, until the redhead wouldn’t wake up. 

Ezekiel had confessed to borrowing the dreamcatcher, and regrettably, Baird had lost her temper with the thief. 

She hadn’t returned to the library other than to use the back door to go home here and there, but she would always return to her girlfriend’s bedroom and beg for her to wake up. Like now. 

Colonel Baird took a hold of Cassandra’s hand, smoothly drawing small circles on her skin with the pad of her thumb; it took far too much energy not to cry as Cillian’s body was framed elegantly by the sheets. Even sleeping, the little librarian had a warm grace to her features; and red curls softly spilled around her shoulders like a magnificent painting. 

Cassandra didn’t deserve to not wake up; there were so many people who should go to bed and never wake, but her darling librarian wasn’t one of them. She was the purest soul on the earth, and Eve doesn’t realise that she’s holding Cillian’s hand so tight until she lets go to wipe the tears that are cascading down her cheeks like waterfalls. 

Her sad, blue gaze turned to the wooden-crafted dreamcatcher. She hadn’t meant to yell at Ezekiel when he owned up to his naivety, and she had apologised when he came around to visit bringing Jake and a bunch of flowers. But Cassandra would still be here, alive and awake if it wasn’t for him. 

Tentatively, Baird reached out to yank the dreamcatcher away from the headboard. 

“Don’t move it.” Jenkins murmured urgently, and Eve jumped, not hearing him come up behind her, “Whatever is happening to Miss Cillian, she is somehow connected with that dream catcher. Kind of like a conduit, if you remove it... she may not be able to get back.” the man sadly spoke and Eve let her hand fall back to Cassandra’s. 

“This isn’t fair, Jenkins,” Eve cried, and she was slightly ashamed of how weak and desperate her voice had become. Her shoulders had started to shake softly in time with the silent tears that just kept falling. “She’s the sweetest, most innocent girl in the world, it shouldn’t have been her,”. 

A sturdy hand rest upon her shoulder and Jenkins supportively squeezed, “I know, Colonel. Cassandra’s absence is hard for everyone. We're all trying to find a solution,” Galahad promised so sincerely that Eve couldn’t be mad at anyone. “Try to eat something, Baird, Cassandra wouldn’t want you to suffer like this,”. 

Eve nodded silently, trying to promise. In all honesty, the blonde wasn’t hungry; the idea of food just made her want to cry for some reason. She would eat when her girlfriend was awake. 


	2. Chapter 2

The whole library shook like an earthquake, dangling lights swayed precariously and fireworks of dust fell from the heavens yet again. The librarians braced themselves, holding onto whatever was closest, a podium, a table, or in Cassandra’s case, a guardian.

Everyone had just been about to disperse; Jake had books he wanted to read, and Ezekiel wanted to perfect an invention; but the room quaked and everyone paused, an unnerving tension in the air. “The serpent brotherhood is getting closer,” Flynn articulated with a heavy sigh. Despite the fact that everyone had established that this was a dream; everything still felt far too real.

“You can’t die in a dream can you?” Cillian wondered out loud.

Jenkins stopped gripping tightly to his rattling teacup, “Not usually no. But you are Astral dreaming. That means that right now you’re a soul, wandering the subconscious astral plains, if someone were to kill you, your soul will cease to exist leaving your body just an empty shell, similar to a coma but... without the possibility of waking up.” the former knight of Camelot exhaled deeply, and Cassandra felt more hopeless than ever. 

“You got dark quickly, Jenkins, you and Jake have more in common,” Ezekiel whistled, brushing off his suit. “There has to be a way for Cassie to get out of here other than a kiss, I mean no offense Cassandra, but true love kinda seems like a long shot at this point,” the thief objected and the redhead tried not to look hurt by that kind of insinuation. 

Everyone pondered thoughtfully for a moment before Eve spoke up, “Can we get in contact with the real me?” The blonde asked hopefully, brows arching skywards. 

Ezekiel laughed and nodded, “Sure let me just get out my spiritual telephone.”

“What about an Ouija board?” Stone suggested.

“A device for the living to contact spirits, not the other way around.” Flynn shot down the idea, sinking into a chair, also at a loss of what to do in this kind of situation, he for one has never been stuck in a dream realm and tried to make contact with the people outside of it.

Cassandra thought hard too, “Well what about the mirror? If we can maybe project ourselves into-” her sentence was cut short by an impatient Ezekiel Jones who was acting more and more like the real version of himself. 

“Into the mirror of your subconsciousness to reach the real world? That's bound to work!” he grinned sarcastically before striding off back to his business. Jake left too, and Cassandra just wanted to scream, taking off as well before anyone else had a chance to see her cry. 

Eve followed her into the deeper parts of the library; when Cass just wanted to get lost in a familiar world, and wake up from this stupid dream, the redhead finally stopped beneath a grand staircase that spiralled up on the outskirts of the hall for several floors. Cillian stopped and faced Baird with panic flashing in her wide, oceanic blue eyes. 

“I want to go home,” the librarian sniffled finally, and without asking, Eve enveloped the girl into a warm and much-needed embrace, instantly soothing the girl with just her mere presence alone. 

“We’re working on it, Cassie, I promise,” Colonel Baird spoke softly, her lithe digits combing through candy-apple red locks calming the woman in her arms. Somehow this felt like it was the only option; not because of the absence of other options, but because comforting Cassandra felt like the most important and natural one. And in a way it was. Baird didn’t know how to deal with the news that she was just a dream sequence. Her past and her relationships weren’t even real. But it gave her something to look forward to, knowing that if Cassandra got out of this Astral plane, they would be together again. 

Cillian hiccupped, the tiny squeak barely leaving her lips, “It feels so wrong being trapped here, in the library, the place that really feels like home,” the redhead let the tension flood from her shoulders as she leant into the other woman’s body, her own arms circling around Eve’s waist. 

“Jake said that True Love’s Kiss could wake you up, it’s why I wanted to perhaps get a message through to the real me... but considering that can’t happen, perhaps we could try it here?” the guardian suggested with a tint of a pink blush highlighting her cheeks like fuchsia flowers blooming in the golden rays of a spring morning. 

Cassandra glanced upwards at the blonde through her lashes, softly biting down on her lower lip. She had thought about it prior, but hadn’t figured how to ask the older woman, especially considering the fact that Flynn had been present for the whole time. 

“Would... would that work?” Cillian inquired, a soft bubble of hope rising in her chest like a hot-air balloon. 

Baird shrugged as an intricate grin weaved upon her lips. In all honesty she wanted this to work more than anything. Single-handedly saving Cassandra’s life would mean so much to the ex-NATO leader, but even if it didn’t work, kissing the redhead would be something that the colonel had been thinking of for some time. 

Eve pressed forward slightly, canting her head forwards as her gentle fingers slowly guided the librarians chin upwards so that their lips met soft and sweet. Cillian’s cherry-rendered lips were delicate yet unyielding pressed against her own, smooth as marble but warm and inviting. Colonel Baird combed her agile digits through red tresses, sinking her lips more firmly against those of her librarian’s, whilst Cassandra tentatively brushed her fingertips across both of Eve’s porcelain cheeks. 

Even though Baird had all the proof in the world that magic was real, this kiss felt more magical than the library. 

When the two finally broke apart, a splitting grin formed on the guardian’s lips, her heart racing a thousand miles a minute. Her grin slowly dissipated when Cassandra blushed giddily and then sighed, her elation turned into despair like a flip of a coin. 

She was still stuck. 

“That ain’t gonna work,” Stone announced from the staircase above them and the two women jumped apart like teenagers that had been caught making out behind the bleachers. Jake just softly chuckled as he descended the stairs, stopping in front of them both. “True love is tricky. Cassie, you might love Eve in the real wold, that’s all fine an’ all, but this isn’t real... In this reality, Eve is destined to be with Flynn,” he explained and Cillian had to admit that it kind of made sense. 

Baird quietly excused herself from the trio, squeezing the redhead's hand and muttering something about _ ‘ _ _ boots’ _. 

“Jake, can I ask you something?” Cass inquired softly, almost as if she were afraid of the question in mind. The cowboy just shrugged, leaning against the bannister. “What happened? In the real world you’re so full of hope and admiration and respect... I want to know what happened so that maybe, if I get back, I can make sure it doesn’t happen there,” the smaller librarian offered. 

It pained her to see her dear friend so different.

Jacob ran a hand through his mussed and unruly hair. “The library is demanding, Cass... I gave it everything I had and it just took even more. I wanted a life y’know? I know I wasn’t livin’ a life in Oklahoma, but now I have access to the world... and I don’t get to live in it. I used to picture m’self on a back porch with a lass and a couple a kids rollin’ in the dirt. We'd have a dog, and a bunch of chickens, and it’d be a right cosy family y’know? And I jus’ realise that I’m never gonna have that,”.

Cassandra almost melted at the way her best friend confessed. She knew being a librarian was taxing, but hadn’t really thought of what it meant they all had to give up. It hadn’t been so much of a big deal for her; with her tumour, Cillian had just been thankful to get to live to know that magic was real. But for Jake, he had signed away his freedom and his future. 

“I know this isn’t what you had pictured your life being like...” Cass spoke tenderly, selecting her words with care, “But you are one of the only people who can save the world, you’re one in a million who was granted the opportunity of knowing about the library, of magic. And we might not be the ideal American dream, but we are a family. You have such a big heart Jake, and you know, in the real world, you and Ezekiel are super cute,” the redhead gleamed as she spoke, watching the cowboy’s features transition into an honest grin. 

“Me and Jones?” he laughed, rubbing a hand down his face before grinning again, looking more like his normal self with a smile that big. 

“Yeah,” Cillian beamed as she nodded, “The library isn’t keeping you from your life, the library is giving you a life,” she exclaimed. 

“Wise words, Miss Cillian,” Jenkins’ gruff voice sounded from behind and the caretaker shuffled towards the librarians. “Do you mind if I have a word with Cassandra?” the man inquired politely, and Jake shook his head, still grinning as he vanished up the stairs. 

“Is everything alright Jenkins?” she asked, stepping in time with the knight's pace as they walked slowly through the maze of shelves in the library. It was a moment before the redhead received an answer, but she waited patiently, knowing Galahad would talk when he felt like it. 

“You obviously know about Ms Noone... I feel as though the real me has warned you of her deceitful ways and yet you manage to come out unscathed of her wrath,” he spoke and they walked still, Cassandra glancing up at him the whole time with a small smile. “I just would like to know if you have all forgiven me for trapping the guardian like that for centuries,” Jenkins shuffled uncomfortably. 

_ Oh, _ Cassandra thought suddenly. 

“We never blamed you, Jenkins. You were protecting the library, as any of us would have done. Flynn took a while to get used to it of course, but... We never once thought of you as anything other than the best,” Cillian assured with her usual terrific grin and it only grew when she saw how relieved the immortal became. 

“That it... good to hear. Is there anything else I should know before your departure back into the real world?” Jenkins inquired and Cassandra candidly wondered for a moment before lighting up like a Christmas tree. 

“Cucumber Sandwiches!” she burst out with excitement, only to be met with Jenkins’ quizzical glance. “You adore cucumber sandwiches! You should really try them sooner rather than later,” the redhead smiled.

If it turns out that she was going to be stuck here for a while, the least that she could do was help her friends, and make this alternate dreamscape seem more like home. And with that thought in her mind, Cassandra Cillian excused herself and hurried through the library to try and find Ezekiel.

She found the Australian hunkered in the lab, thoroughly reading a volume that was almost twice the size of the clippings book. Never in a million years would the real Ezekiel have gone through the effort of lifting the cover on that thing, nevermind actually read it. Cassandra made her presence known by softly, and so not subtly clearing her throat. 

“Cassandra! Good to see you! Can I help you with something?” Ezekiel cheerfully greeted, seemingly forgetting about their prior argument. She was glad about that. Cillian hated it when they fought, even slightly. When she got into arguments with the real Jones, the thief would avoid her like the plague, or if they had to be together on a mission, he’d talk over her suggestions and it was infuriating. This Ezekiel wasn’t infuriating at all and that in itself was infuriating! 

“Actually, I wanted to talk about-” Cassandra was about to make herself comfortable on the adjacent stool but a loud blaring alarm cut her midway. 

Both Cillian and Jones clasped their hands over their ears as the obnoxious wailing rang throughout the library. 

“What the hell is that?!” Cass shouted over the piercing thrill of the alarm as she backed away from the table, Ezekiel almost stumbled over the stool that he’d been sat on as he made his way over. 

“That’s the back-door alarm that you built!” Ezekiel yelled back and the redhead was surprised that he had heard her over the siren. “Someone’s in the library!” 

Cassandra and Ezekiel ran together towards the main library hall, thankfully the intrusive wailing alarm had ceased, leaving the librarians’ ears ringing. The other two librarians, caretaker and guardian were already present and arguing over the next course of action, and Cillian had to do a double-take when she glanced over to Eve. 

Colonel Baird was dressed in her ordinary, black cargo pants, with a plain, grey long-sleeved shirt. Her blonde hair was tied back in its rightful ponytail and the majority of her makeup had been washed off. That was better. That was _ her _ Eve. 

The redhead stood in place beside Baird and Stone, listening in on the very one-sided conversation. 

Jenkins was stood on the bottom step, addressing the rest of the group. 

“Ordinarily, defending the library would be our main and sole objective. However, under recent circumstances, the library is in no threat. Despite our surroundings, the library is safe and protected in the real world. As this is apparently an astral plane, nothing we do has a consequence; the only one who can detriment from any of this is Miss Cillian, we lose her, and she loses everything,” Jenkins summed up, and Cassandra felt the hollow of her stomach drop with the weight of an anchor. 

Before she could say a word, Eve stood in front of her, with one arm keeping her back, “If the serpent Brotherhood want to touch her, they have to go through me,” The guardian stated so fiercely that the smallest librarian almost swooned. Almost. 

Jake moved to stand in front of her also, he looked so determined and focused, much more like his usual self. “Yeah, me too,”. 

“They’ll have to go through me as well,” said Ezekiel as he shifted to the other side of Eve, and Cassandra had never felt so overwhelmed before. 

“Sure, why not.” Flynn agreed dramatically as he waltzed over to Ezekiel, all four of them standing in between her, and the threat of her non-existence. 

Jenkins nodded approvingly, still on the steps as the library shook again, and somewhere close, a door was banging open. “We’re all in agreement then, Miss Cillian’s life is at stake, we must do everything in our power to protect her,” The words had barely left the knights lips when the doors to the library flung open and a swarm of men in black burst into the room. 

Eve spun around to face her, panic flaring in her beautiful blue eyes. 

“Cassandra! Run!” 

Cassandra wasn’t the fastest runner; in school she hardly participated in gym class, mostly because the girls there never wanted her on the team, and even if she was on a team, it felt like the whole school versus her. Only recently, under Baird’s strict training had the librarian been forced to get stronger and faster in preparation for the real world. 

But it turns out nothing could prepare the girl for fleeing through the library with a line of highly-trained assassins on her heels. 

Her lungs were burning, always seemingly running out of air the second she took a breath, her heart pounded and the adrenaline all just seemed to rush to face which was burning bright red. Cassandra had dedicated a couple of hours a day to figuring out the layout of the library, but here and there shelves had appeared and cabinets vanished. Jake had said that the dream world was familiar but not exactly the same... which led to the librarian shortly getting lost in the maze of books and artefacts. 

Footsteps sounded all around her, and it was impossible to tell who they belonged to, so Cassandra moved around quietly and carefully, dodging behind shelves like army barricades. From somewhere, she heard Jake shouting out in agony, and the redhead pressed her hand to her mouth to avoid making more noise. Was he okay? She loathed not knowing what was happening to her family. 

“Fan out! Find the girl! Kill anyone who gets in your way,” a gruff and angry voice sounded from a couple of rows away and Cillian tried hard not to let a rogue tear slip down her cheek. A rhythmic beat of footsteps stomped away from the voice, ten men in total, scouring the area and Cass forced her own feet to keep moving. 

She snuck behind a column, catching a breath when she came face to face with a man in a mask and ducked just before his fist collided with her head. The librarian was just about to scream for help when her attacker crumpled forward, falling to the floor as Excalibur proudly greeted her. 

“Cal!” the redhead exclaimed, never being so happy to see a sword. “Oops,” she winced, her voice had been louder than she’d expected and heard the shouts of the Brotherhood draw closer. She ran for the stairs just as she caught sight of Eve on the other side of the room, breathless, but okay, and that was when the serpent brotherhood circled the librarian. 

Cal fought them together whilst all the redhead could do was try not to get hit by fists, swords and knives. The clink of metal on metal was deafening, and Cassandra hoped that Cal would be able to manage. Eight of the men lay on the ground, motionless like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Excalibur was bravely facing another. 

And before Cassandra could do the maths of who was left, the bandit appeared before her and thrust a knife towards her abdomen.

The blade never made contact with her shaking body, and it took far too long for Cassandra to open her eyes to the truth, and as soon as she had, the redhead wished that she hadn’t. Eve had stepped in front of the librarian, and the knife protruded from her stomach as the steel dripped crimson. Cal took care of the last man as the Guardian slowly fell to her knees and Cillian rushed to catch her. 

“Eve... eve no!” she whispered fervently as the blonde fell into her awaiting arms like an autumn kissed leaf, and the two made their nest on the floor of the library, hardly ideal for a final resting place. Eve, the perfect, beautiful Eve who had never acted recklessly a day in her life had flung herself in the way of a thrusting knife just to save Cassandra. 

The grey shirt was soaking with a maroon dye that wouldn't stop, and there was far too much red for Cassandra to look anywhere else than the blood staining her lovers' stomach. Tears obscured her vision, and the world became but a stinging blur. 

Shaking fingers pressed to the wound, trying desperately to stop the seeping flow of blood from draining the life from her precious guardian, and Colonel Baird’s head cradled in her lap, innocent blue eyes already void of hope, and when she coughs, her chest rattles. 

A weak smile lingered on the blonde's cushioned lips, grinning up towards her little librarian knowing that Cassandra was at least safe for now; and knowing that she was dying, and that she’d do it all again regardless. 

“If w-we really are t-together in the real world. Then I-I’m a very l-lucky woman,” Eve struggled, as if her breath was fading before she'd finished her words; she laid still, almost peaceful whilst the redhead shook helplessly around her. 

“Eve! No no no no no! Please! No!” she sobbed a guttural cry wrenching from her throat, chest heaving as her tears fell hard and fast, not even bothering to wipe them away. She had prepared for death for half of her life, she had come to terms with dying, but not Eve, not her. 

She would trade places in a heartbeat. But heartbeats were running out. 

“Cassandra,” Baird’s voice was breaking, but even still, even inches from death, it was warm and comforting, and it just made Cassandra cry even more. Azure, blue eyes glanced up, relieved to still see the librarian with her. “Relax me?” the blonde asked quietly, and for the first time in forever, Cassandra detected a hint of fear in the guardian’s voice. 

She knew this wasn’t real, but she’d had nightmares of her girlfriend dying in her arms before, and this was more real than anything her dreams had offered before. She could feel the blood between her fingertips, she could feel Eve barely breath. 

Cassandra pulled herself together just enough to nod, and her blood-soaked fingertips combed gently through blonde hair. She remembered the first time that she’d done that; she and Eve had been lying on the couch watching an old eighties movie, and Cillian had absent-mindedly been stroking the others hair, and in minutes, Baird had fallen asleep. 

Just like she was about to now... but forever. 

The redhead was almost consumed by fear. What if she didn’t wake up? What if she had to live in the astral plane without Eve... She shook the thoughts away and comforted the guardian in the same way she always did. 

“You’re safe Evie... You can forget about the rest of the world... they can’t have you. You’re mine, and I love you,” Cassandra whispered her comforting mantra as she stroked Baird’s hair softly, holding her close. Somehow these words meant more when they were the last things she was saying to her Guardian. 

“I’ll always love you Eve, Forever. It’s just you, and me... and that’s the way we’re gonna be forever. You and me,” Cillian assured, her breath trembling as silent tears cascaded down her cheeks, falling to the floor. 

Baird remained cradled in her lap wearing a brave smile, as if she didn’t want Cassandra to realise how afraid she was. Her glassy, sapphire orbs searched for comfort, finding it only in the broken eyes of Cassandra Cillian, and that sight made Eve smile truly, before her final breath ghosted past her lips. 

Her stunning eyes lost focus, staring intently into oblivion, staring, but no longer seeing, clouded over in a hazy blanket. 

“I love you, I love you!” the red-haired girl cried in agony, as if she could make Eve hear her words, make her acknowledge her again. “I love you...” Her words were broken, falling half-heartedly from her numb lips. Her tone was brittle, defeated, and cracking. 

And all she wanted, in that moment, was for Colonel Baird to smile at her, that same stunning charming smile that she had fallen in love with, and say “I know,”. 

But she didn’t. 

Eve sat in the corner of the bedroom in a chair that she had borrowed from her girlfriends living room. She hadn’t slept properly in days, preferring to watch over her librarian like a guardian angel, convinced that at any moment, Cassandra was going to wake up; and she had to be lucid when she did. Other times, Baird couldn’t help it, her exhaustion washed over her in waves, and she would pass out in the chair for two hours, mentally berating herself about it when she woke. 

114 hours it had been since discovering the redhead immobile in her own bed. Four days and eighteen hours. And it all melted into one huge agonising time of despair. The library had been on hold; cases piling up one on top of the other. Stone had apologised to the clippings book, but ‘family comes first’, as he said. He, Jenkins and Ezekiel had been tearing the place apart trying to find clues on what had happened, and were coming up empty-handed day after day after day. 

Colonel Baird leaned forward as a worried sigh escaped her, resting her elbows on her knees as the blonde stressfully screamed inside of her mind. Innocent, adorable Cassandra. Why did it have to be her? She would trade places with her girlfriend in an instant, and not just because she was the guardian, but because 

“Eve,” A soft whimper sounded from the girl in the bed and Baird almost tripped over her feet to be by her side; hoping that Cillian was perhaps waking up. 

“Hey Cassie, it’s me, I’m here,” the guardian reassured, gently moving a strand of red hair out of the girl’s face. Cassandra’s brows knitted together softly, and her breath seemed to quicken out of the blue. 

“Eve, _ Eve _,” the soft whimpers mewled from Cassandra’s lips restlessly and Baird took the librarian’s hand in her own tightly, wishing more than ever that she would wake up now that she seemed to be stuck in some sort of nightmare. 

“Cass! Please wake up!” she pleaded, begging her girlfriend to open her eyes. The sound of the back door connecting to the bedroom caught the guardian off guard and she hurriedly glanced over her shoulder as the bright flash illuminated the room. Jake and Ezekiel tumbled out onto the carpet, both out of breath and hurrying to talk. 

“It’s Briar Rose’s Curse!” Jake gasped out as soon as he could, as if he’d ran the entirety of the library just to make it to the annex in record time. 

“True love’s kiss!” Ezekiel followed on, also breathless and clutching onto his side, visibly in pain from all the running. 

Eve refused to waste a single second, surging forward and she pressed a powerful and desperate kiss to the cold lips of Cassandra Cillian; praying to whatever deity may exist that this would work. It had to. It just _ had _ to. 

The blonde pulled back after a moment, and the anticipation hung heavy in the room as nobody dared to breathe, all waiting anxiously, staring at their friend. For Eve, the seconds felt like decade’s her heart bellowing inside of her chest like a drum. She held her breath and held Cassandra’s hand. 

Cillian’s fingers twitched slightly, closing tighter around Eve’s and the Guardian heaved an audible and excited sigh of relief instantly grinning and moving to stroke the younger woman’s red hair. Cassandra opened her eyes at long last, colour flooding back into her cheeks as her cautious, blue gaze landed on her girlfriend. 

“Eve! You’re alive!” the librarian managed, her voice slightly hoarse and rough; but it didn’t matter. Cass threw her arms around Baird’s neck, holding her tightly, taking comfort in the fact that Eve had woken her up, she wasn’t dead, but here, by her side, like she had always promised to be. 

“I was going to say the same thing to you, Cass,” The blonde chuckled slightly, embracing Cillian without ever wanting to let her go. She had been forced to experience life without her little librarian for days, and Colonel Baird never wanted to do that again. 

Cassandra beamed brightly, pulling away from the guardian to carefully trace her lithe fingertips over her girlfriend’s face, cupping her cheeks dearly, beyond glad that Eve was alright. 

“I thought I was supposed to be the dashing prince that rescues the princess.” Cillian shyly laughed, fondly remembering her brief encounter as Prince Charming that one time. 

Baird grinned, her smile illuminated her lips with all the radiance of a star, “Sometimes the dashing prince needs rescuing too,” she whispered, leaning forwards to press a soft, chaste kiss to the redhead’s temple, pushing her autumn locks behind her ear as Cillian blushed. 

Everyone reconvened in the library once the sun was up, and Jenkins quite eagerly took the dreamcatcher from Baird’s grasp, muttering something like ‘that’s enough damage’ as he invited them all to restore the artefact to its proper place. 

Cassandra wore a bright pink dress with purple leggings underneath, finding a butterfly clasp belt to add to the outfit with a golden butterfly broach. She walked alongside Ezekiel who, for quite some time, couldn’t bring himself to look at her. 

“Look Cass, I’m really sorry,” the thief finally spoke after a while, swallowing back the lump in his throat, “I should never have given you something that dangerous, it was in the library for a reason... perhaps I really should start educating myself more on these artefacts, be a sensible person, like you and Stone,” Jones hung his head and Cassandra stopped him, watching as Jake and Eve went ahead with Jenkins. 

“You don’t have to change for anyone; we love you exactly as you are; you’re our family, and we all make mistakes,” the redhead assured with a confident and contagious smile. Ezekiel nervously brushed a hand through his hair, clearly not expecting to be forgiven so easily. 

“But still, I’m sorry Cass, I really am,” they began walking again, quickly catching up to the others, and they passed a sapphire diadem which Cillian recalled as the artefact that had been locked behind the thief-proof glass when he had given her the dream-catcher. 

“Hey, you broke into the cabinet!” Cillian exclaimed proudly and Jones laughed. 

“Yeah, turns out, nothing is Ezekiel Jones proof,” the Australian chuckled and Jake turned around to clasp his hand over the thief’s mouth. 

“Turns out you brag too much, Jonesy,” the cowboy grinned, winking at Cassandra as the other boy struggled to escape Jacob’s trap. Cillian was just glad that they were back to their ordinary selves. 

“Ah here we are,” Jenkins exclaimed, unlocking the glass casing were an empty stand stood alone, and Eve took her redhead’s hand while they watched the knight hang the dreamcatcher back in its rightful place. “Did you know that this dreamcatcher was submitted in 1881 by the librarian at the time-” 

“Isaac Newton,” Cassandra finished Galahad’s sentence with a bright and cheeky grin whilst everyone else just looked at her, stunned, all aside for Jenkins who was nodding approvingly. 

“Isaac Newton was a librarian?” Colonel Baird asked in utter surprise which made Cassie giggle softly, entwining their fingers. Cillian bounced softly on her toes, a result of just being ecstatically happy. 

On their slow walk back to the main library, Cassandra swung their arms gently, a grin fixated permanently on her lips until an obnoxious yawn took over, despite how hard she tried to stifle it. Eve arched a brow, unable to help the smile that rest on her countenance. 

“You okay, Cass?” the blonde whispered gently, squeezing the girl’s hand, and the librarian glanced up with bright blue eyes, nodding curtly. 

“I’m fine. I’m actually kind of sleepy,” the redhead admitted with a short laugh and a tired smile, huddling closer to her girlfriend as they walked. 

“Oh no, I am never letting you fall asleep again, Miss Cillian. Sleeping has been prohibited from here on out,” the guardian teased relentlessly, melting like butter when the smaller woman let out a long whine. 

“Eeeevvveee!” Cass whimpered dramatically, and without warning, Baird lifted Cillian into her arms bridal style, ignoring the soft squeak of surprise that flew from the redhead’s warm lips as she wrapped her arms around Eve’s neck. 

“I’ll take you home, my sweet Prince Charming,” she promised sweetly, and the guardian carried Cassandra through to the Annex, and stayed curled around her small body when the girl fell asleep in their bed; swearing to protect her little librarian forever. 


End file.
